Wednesday, August 15, 2012

TIME for Some Clarification

I understand many new readers have arrived here via Time Magazine. I'd
like to welcome you and to urge you to read some of the early posts to
understand why I started this blog.
Many of the comments from recent readers have scolded me for either where I ride or how I ride.
First
and foremost, I do not ever ride to prove a point or make a statement.
I ride for the enjoyment of the ride. I do not ever "go looking" for a
confrontation or incident. I ride the same way each time I ride. I
also ride with cameras every time I ride.
I always have cameras for
the same reason convenience stores have surveillance systems. If or
when something bad happens I will have video evidence of what
occurred. This also means that if I were to do something wrong there
would be evidence of that. That is further reinforcement for me to
follow all the applicable traffic laws, which I do. I stop for stop
signs and lights, and signal turns etc.

As far as the where I
ride, that is to say which roads I travel, almost all of them are
marked bike routes. The roads that aren't marked bike routes are
lightly traveled county roads.

I do not ride bike paths often because avoiding inattentive joggers or loose dogs is too dangerous and time consuming.
Also
the law allows me to ride on the roads I use. I've paid for them
through my taxes and the state of Wisconsin department of transportation
recommends that I ride on many of them. That's why they are bike
routes.
If you think I shouldn't ride my bike on a marked bike route,
then I can only assume you are not, yourself, a cyclist, and you are
certainly not a cycling advocate.

As far as how I ride, that is
to say where in the lane I position myself, I do not, as many have
erroneously stated, ride in the middle of the road or even in the middle
of the right lane. I occasionally will ride toward the middle of the
right lane if the lane is very narrow.
It may be hard for some to
understand that riding away from the far right side of the road is safer
than hugging the curb or white line.
Not only does the law allow
cyclists to do this, the state Department of Transportation encourages
them to do so on narrow lanes.
If the lane is too narrow for a car
or truck to pass safely within the lane, hugging the right edge
encourages drivers to try, in spite of the lack of room to pass when it
is not safe to do so.
I ride further from the right edge of the road
than some because I have had my hands or handlebars clipped too many
times. I have been run into the ditch too many times.
If my lane
position causes drivers to have to wait to pass until it can be done
safely, then my mission has been accomplished. If a driver has to wait a
few seconds to pass a cyclist, and that's all it usually takes to get
safely by a cyclist, why is that more of a problem for them or
inconvenience for them than waiting the same amount of time to get
passed a school bus, farm tractor, pedestrian, broken down car, or
anyone else who has a legal right to be on the road moving at less than
the posted speed limit?
If I am riding in a lane that is wide enough
to safely accommodate me on my bike and a motor vehicle I ride far
enough to the right to allow that to happen, otherwise I ride where I
need to ride to insure that someone doesn't clip my bars, send me into
the ditch, or run right up my back wheel.
It's the safest way to
ride, it's the law, and it's recommended by the state Department of
Transportation. If it is slightly inconvenient for some drivers, I'm
sorry for the delay, but the safety of any cyclist is far more important
than shaving 15 seconds off any one motorist's commute.
I appreciate the interest in this blog and more importantly in the issue of safe cycling. I look forward to continuing the dialog with the new readers.

UPDATE: I went back and looked at the last 9 videos posted and in each one of them I was riding either within a couple feet of the right edge of the road or in some cases I was actually on the white line or in a marked bike lane. I'm not sure what some folks are talking about saying I'm in the middle of the road or taking too much room. A typical bike is 2 feet wide and every bike safety group I've ever heard of recommends allowing yourself a minimum of a couple feet of space to maneuver.

Here are the latest impatient drivers.

One told me at the stop light where I caught up to him that if I had been a cyclist friend of his he wouldn't have passed the way he did. Figure that one out. He knew he did something dangerous and illegal but didn't care because he didn't know his victim.
Bikesafer
Jeff

8 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Dude, from one cyclist to another it looks like your riding pretty much in the middle of the road. It's no wonder people are getting angry with you, it looks like your making no effort to ride as close to the curb as posible.

Great write-up. In Nebraska the law actually says that you have to ride as far right as possible. It is a horrible law. It does have a clause in it though that says if a car and bike can't fit in the lane safely together then you don't have to ride to the right (see http://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,317)

In my view a car and a bike can never safely fit in a lane together so I always ride in the right tire track, and sometimes in the middle. I am not ashamed of this. I want a car to have to move over to pass me so I don't get clipped.

Here is my encounter with a less than attentive driver (he comes from the left): http://youtu.be/bgcUCu7bkeo?hd=1

Congrats on the Time publishing, we are currently traveling outside the country so not sure what it is about (good or bad), but all press is good press right ;).

Being a rss follower since before where I may not have your same riding style (I do tend to hug the hard right with flats and all). I still fully believe as the law states and several cycling recommendations that sometimes you must own the lane for your own safety and in cases where you do not own the lane than you can be at fault. So best of luck to whatever harassment is coming your way, this too shall pass :)

Congrats on the Time publishing, we are currently traveling outside the country so not sure what it is about (good or bad), but all press is good press right ;).

Being a rss follower since before where I may not have your same riding style (I do tend to hug the hard right with flats and all). I still fully believe as the law states and several cycling recommendations that sometimes you must own the lane for your own safety and in cases where you do not own the lane than you can be at fault. So best of luck to whatever harassment is coming your way, this too shall pass :)

Yes, cyclists should definitely balance on the white line. That way you identify all the glass (from a different kind of "impatient" person) for those kind drivers. You'll also be able to alert all drivers to where the slickest paint, or drop-off curbs are by crashing and sliding all over the road. Most drivers enjoy avoidance practice and will welcome your sudden death-defying movements to keep them awake.

I came across your blog after reading the TIME article and yeah, people should be a little more considerate and respectful of bikers. Unfortunately we live in a motorist's world. Until more people start biking we will be a marginal voice.

I know this is an old post, but I commute by bike in Brooklyn where, on a daily basis, I have to choose between riding in a door zone bike lane or controlling the lane and pissing off drivers behind me. I choose the latter because its absurd to put yourself in danger just to save drivers a few seconds.